Book Review: Wormwood Scrubs: The Inside Story: Revealing What Really Goes on in England’s Most Famous Prison
| DOI | 10.1177/0964663916637717 |
| Date | 01 April 2016 |
| Author | Susanna Menis |
| Published date | 01 April 2016 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Book Reviews
Book Reviews
ANGELA LEVIN, Wormwood Scrubs: The Inside Story:Revealing What Really Goes on in England’s Most
Famous Prison. London: GFI&A, 2014, pp. 162, ISBN 978-1500440893, £9.99 (pbk).
There is only need to raise your eyes to notice Elizabeth Fry and John Howards’ sculpted
faces, icons of the socio-penal reformist era of the late Georgian period, located on either
side of the impressive prison gates. Many, however, do not recognize these two faces or
what they represent, and their stone countenances offer no clue as to what lies hidden
behind the massive locked wooden gates of the 1890s, grade 2 listed building, HMP
Wormwood Scrubs. Prison is an emotive subject of discussion, not the least because it
involves a problematic notion of punishment in which theories and philosophies have
tried to justify and balance the idea of social harm and safety with individual responsi-
bility and liberties. In practice, reality is grim and difficult to rationalize.
In Wormwood Scrubs: The Inside Story, Angela Levin provides insight into the
complex prison life at this male, category B, West London local prison. It may be that
the fate of this prison was set from the onset when designed in 1875 by Sir Edmond Du
Cane; the prison was built to serve Du Cane’s prison policy of uniformity. Frugality and
one treatment fit for all was at the core of Du Cane’s approach, but it could be argued that
this approach also strongly resonates in recent penal policies. Being a former Indepen-
dent Monitoring Board (IMB) member, Levin conveys her frustration with the Ministry
of Justice’s (MoJ) blase´ attitude towards prison reality. In the 2013 IMB report, she uses
the term ‘on a knife edge’, something that reached the national news but only attracted a
standard acknowledgement by the MoJ (p. 5). It is odd, she states, that the IMB is meant
to function as the eyes and ears of the MoJ, while in fact, the reason for writing this book
is ‘because no one is listening’ (p. 7).
Levin argues that it is in the public interest to make known what is happening. She
urges the reader to question ‘how life inside has been allowed to deteriorate’ (p. 3). In
2013, the government imposed a new penal regime that implemented unprecedented cuts
in budgets and the number of prison offic ers (p. 2). Specifically, HMP Wormwoo d
Scrubs was to operate with a budget cut of 21%and reduction in prison officers of
78%(p. 138) for a prison population with an operational capacity of approximately
1200 prisoners. However, this was perceived by the National Offender Management
Service (NOMS) as a grand plan, as it meant maximizing opportunities for rehabilitation,
with more prisoners engaging in full-time work, whilst maintaining a positive regime
(p. 140). Arguably however, a business plan that fails to take into account the human
factor at the core of the enterprise is destined to fail. Indeed, Levin exposes the bitter
Social & Legal Studies
2016, Vol. 25(2) 249–258
ªThe Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0964663916637717
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